John Kerry's Endorsement of Barack Obama

When Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry last week — it was like money in the bank — literally. The Hill reports Obama now has access to Kerry's coveted e-mail data base of about three million Democratic supporters — believed to be one of the more accurate such lists.

Obama's staff has already fired off one e-mail from the candidate and another from Kerry to the folks on the list.

The Massachusetts senator has been a record-breaking fundraiser for Democratic candidates — pulling in $33 million during the 2006 midterm campaign — with one-third of that coming from the people on the e-mail list.

Cover Story

Hillary Clinton reportedly pulled out of a commitment to be on the cover of Vogue magazine last fall because of worries she would appear too alluring. Women's Wear Daily reports noted photographer Annie Leibovitz was lined up to do the cover shoot.

But a Vogue spokesman says — "We were told by Ms. Clinton's camp that they were concerned if Clinton appeared in Vogue that she would appear too feminine."

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour writes in the current issue that Clinton is behind the times — "The notion that a contemporary woman must look mannish in order to be taken seriously as a seeker of power is frankly dismaying... This is America, not Saudi Arabia."

Home Invasion

Several states are considering limits to computer-generated political calls that are becoming increasingly frequent — and increasingly annoying to many voters. USA Today reports more than five million of what are termed "robo-calls" have been made to households in early primary states. Some people got as many as 25 calls on the day before an election.

Candidates and special interest groups love robo-calls because they are fast and cheap — costing as little as two cents apiece.

Nineteen states restrict robo-calls. At least five others are thinking about it. But few states actually enforce the laws on the books — because of worries they may violate free speech protections.

Creative Advertising

And one supporter of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says he offered boxer Roy Jones Jr. $50,000 to get a "Ron Paul 2008" tattoo put on his back before his fight tomorrow night with Felix Trinidad in Las Vegas.

A doctored photo depicting Jones with the tattoo was featured on the Web site Gambling911.com.

The Las Vegas Sun reports Paul supporter Heath Whitaker says his offer to Jones was turned down — because Jones did not want his last fight to be remembered for the tattoo.

Whitaker says he has also contacted promoter Don King about putting a Ron Paul ad on one of the ring girls' cards — but has not yet heard back.